Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2006-07: Robert Mayer spent most of the season with Kloten U20 (Elite Jr. A), appearing in 30 games. He also suited up for five games with the Swiss National U18 squad, posting a 2.17 goals against average and a .924 save percentage (best of tournament).

2007-08: This was the Mayer's first season of North American hockey. He backstopped Saint John (QMJHL) with a 16-10-1 record, a 3.77 GAA and a .877 save percentage. He also appeared in five games for the Swiss U20 club at the WJC, but didn’t post good numbers. He was also invited to the 2008 Home Hardware CHL-NHL Top Prospects Game.

2008-09: Mayer came back for another season with the Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL), posting a 26-25-4 record with a 3.25 goals against average and a .900 save percentage. Despite playing in more games, his numbers improved over last season. Expect to see him make the jump to Hamilton (AHL) next season

2009-10: Mayer was assigned to the ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones. He split time with fellow rookie Jeremy Smith (NAS). Mayer spent the bulk of his season with Cincinnati of the ECHL, posting a .889 save percentage in 31 games. He was also given a game with Hamilton, only allowing 2 goals against with a .931 save percentage.

2010-11: Mayer struggled as a 21-year-old in his first full AHL season with Hamilton. Pushed into the starting role after an injury to Bulldogs' starter and one-time NHL goalie Curtis Sanford, Mayer struggled in the starter's role and then saw limited action after AHL veteran Drew MacIntyre was signed. For the season, Mayer finished with a 9-10-2 record with a 3.06 GAA and .890 save percentage for a Hamilton team that won the AHL's North Division and advanced to the playoff semifinals. Mayer did not make any playoff appearances with MacIntyre starting all 20 games.

2011-12: Mayer struggled at times in his second AHL season with Hamilton as the back-up to Nathan Lawson. He continues to allow in bad goals while losing his angles but can have flashes of excellence and still needs to show more consistency in his starts. The young Czech-born goalie has posted 14-18-1 with an improved 2.94 goals against average and a respectable .909 save percentage on the last place Bulldogs in 39 AHL games this year.

2012-13: Mayer played for Montreal's AHL affiliate in Hamilton in his fourth pro season. He played a team-high 38 games and was 16-17-3 with a 2.93 goals against and .908 save percentage. The Bulldogs missed the AHL playoffs after finishing last in the North Division. Mayer was re-signed by Montreal to a two-year contract as a restricted free agent in July, 2013.

Talent Analysis

Troubled by inconsistency, Mayer shows flashes of greatness but has surrendered his fair share of soft goals. An aggressive netminder, Mayer comes out of his crease quickly to play the angle, but sometimes gets burned by his eagerness. With solid positioning and a great glove hand, Mayer has the potential to be much better than what he has shown so far.

Future

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Photo: Swiss forward Sven Andrighetto is one of several Montreal Canadiens prospects to miss some time to injury this season. Andrighetto is in his first year of professional hockey following two high-scoring years in the QMJHL. (courtesy of Minas Panagiotakis/Icon SMI)

After finishing the 2012-13 season in last place, the Hamilton Bulldogs, the AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, are challenging for a playoff spot at the halfway point of the 2013-14 season.

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Photo: Photo: Charles Hudon is one of several offensively gifted forwards in the Montreal Canadiens system. Hudon was selected in the fifth round of the 2013 NHL Draft. (courtesy of Minas Panagiotakis/Icon SMI)

The Montreal Canadiens spent the 2013 off-season addressing various holes in their organizational depth chart and now have good balance throughout their system. Montreal's management philosophy is to give their prospects every opportunity to seize a spot on the NHL roster. The organization is not afraid to put rookies into regular season NHL games for evaluation purposes and the approach has worked very well so far.

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Photo: Brady Vail and the Windsor Spitfires failed to make the playoffs in 2012-13. Vail posted 55 points in 68 regular games with Windsor. (Terry Wilson / OHL Images.)

The Montreal Canadiens prospects at the lower professional levels were unable to gain any post-season playing experience as the Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) and the Wheeling Nailers (ECHL) failed to qualify for their respective playoffs.

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Photo: Defenseman Morgan Ellis is one of several first-year players for the Hamilton Bulldogs. Ellis was selected 117th overall by the Canadiens in 2010. (Minas Panagiotakis/Icon SMI)

Last season, the Hamilton Bulldogs finished near the bottom of the AHL and failed to make the Calder Cup playoff, a fate similar to their parent club, the Montreal Canadiens. New General Manager, Marc Bergevin decided to bring in a completely new Bulldogs' coaching staff, adding a good mix of NHL and junior experience with head coach Sylvain Lefebvre, assistants Donald Dufresne, Ron Wilson, and goaltending coach Vincent Riendeau.

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Photo: Michael Bournival is one of many Montreal Canadiens prospects to make his professional debut in 2012-13 (Minas Panagiotakis/Icon SMI)

Using the 2012 NHL Draft, the Montreal Canadiens' greatly improved their organizational prospect pool over the past off-season. GM Marc Bergevin has changed the organizational philosophy by adding a bigger management staff, more scouting, and a development team to work with the prospects at all hockey levels and leagues.